Chinese girl infected with bird flu: official

Taiyuan, Jan 18 (Xinhua) A two-year-old girl has been confirmed to be infected with bird flu in north China’s Shanxi Province, a provincial government official has said. The girl, surnamed Peng, took ill Jan 7 in the central Hunan Province. Her grandparents took her to Luliang City of Shanxi Jan 11.

She was taken to the Fenyang Hospital Wednesday and then to the Shanxi Children’s Hospital Wednesday night after her condition got worse, said an official with the Shanxi provincial health department.

The patient was in critical condition, the official said.

According to the test result of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the girl tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

The people who had close contact with the patient are under medical observation. None of them have been found to be ill so far.